Tyranny of the minority
Some sanity seems to have dawned on the powers-that-be after the momentary madness. The announcement albeit from one quarter, that the two governments in Sri Lanka are sitting down to discuss issues of public importance must surely be welcome by the larger section of the country's long battered and bruised people. No doubt, a section is bitter.

These are those who profit by division and dissension. The JVP seems to be another disgruntled lot. The JVP has clearly gone that extra mile, stomaching insult upon humiliation, rejection upon dejection to strike a deal with the President's party, only to return home empty-handed each time they argued their case.

Their intentions are noble, we daresay. They want to protect the sovereignty of Sri Lanka as much as they want to cleanse the political arena of the rogue-elements in national politics. They want no-contest pacts and they want Ministries to run an exemplary government.

Another person who profits by division is the disputed leader of the plantation workers, Arumugam Thondaman who is on record for making an astonishing and unprecedented remark that if there is a national government he would throw in his lot with the separatist LTTE.

The others who are not pleased as punch by unity are the political lackeys - or some of them, the more vociferous ones at that - who rely on government appointments for their perks and privileges. To this motley crew of the disgruntled, can be added the LTTE.
So, by and large there is a fair segment of the tyrannical minority that could be unhappy at the turn of events in the past few days.

On the opposing corner are the clergymen (or some of them), businessmen (other than arms dealers of course), and millions of ordinary men, women and children from the North, South and East especially who wish for peace, to pursue their normal day-to-day existence. The two leaders appear to have bowed to pressure both local and international to this end.

The President knows that there is a point to which she can push the limits, and so does the Prime Minister. Having painted herself into a corner, a good leader will allow herself an escape route, simply because to go for the jugular will only bury Sri Lanka in a deeper mire.

The rapprochement and the linking of the country's two main parties may mean that their designs are on robbing the country together. What was done by the respective parties singularly must not be done collectively.

A linking or coming-together of two parties does not mean that portfolios should be liberally distributed to end up with a Cabinet of 100 Ministers plundering the country's meagre financial resources. But, most importantly, any "national government'' by whatever name, should not be an excuse for the two parties to get together for bartering this country's sovereignty by whatever name.

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